Good news for smartphone owners as Commission seeks to cap data roaming charges - and for consumers hoping to assert their rights through a collective lawsuit.

The News: Happy roaming - Consumer action

Downloading data on holiday  is still too expensive.

Phone operators are again  in the sights of the Commission:

Misleading advertising,  overbilling, hidden costs:

will EU consumers one day be able to unite  to demand compensation?

EPTV reopens the file  on collective redress.

And, the rest of today’s news  in brief and in pictures.

Once past the border, many Europeans  still hesitate to download

That may change: the Commission  unveiled its new battle plan.

Today there’s no cap  on the download rates,

but they should progressively go down  to €0.50/MB by 2014, excluding VAT.

These are measures dictated by a lack  of competition in this lucrative market.

When a market is competitive,  prices normally converge towards the costs.

But that is absolutely not the case here,  there are economic rents earned

that are a clear indicator of a market  distortion which must be addressed.

Operators believe that price caps  could slow innovation in the field

You have to reconcile the interests  of the producers and the consumers

and have competition regulate these  systems through the quality of services.

As to the cost of roaming calls  and text messages,

that trend will also be  a downward one from 2012.

Arm wrestling between the operators  and the EU has only just begun.

Fraud without borders,  misleading ads...

European consumers increasingly  fall victim to unfair practices.

But seeking compensation in another  country is practically mission impossible.

After more than a decade of reflection,  a European solution could emerge in 2013,

Collective action is when  a group of victims come together

to take legal action against the same  professional and for the same damages.

Even if collective redress  is welcomed by consumer associations,

some fear the excesses  of the American class action system.

They invest money to exploit the opportunity  to have economic results over the action.

We must therefore define a strict  framework for collective redress in the EU.

Only the voluntary participation  of plaintiffs would be accepted.

While, as you know,  the US system is the ‘opt-out’ -

a priori all the as of yet unidentified  plaintiffs are included in the legal action

and will be left out  only if they request it.

It’s estimated that every year consumers  relinquish 20 billion euros to businesses

because they could not or did not know how  to initiate legal proceedings.

The Greek crisis escalates. On Monday  EU leaders held an emergency meeting

to coordinate their positions  and to reassure the markets.

A daunting challenge:  eurogroup ministers cannot agree

on the new rescue plan  sought by Athens.

The plan should be implemented at short  notice, Angela Merkel said on Monday.

No credit ratings for struggling countries.

Michel Barnier reacted on Monday to the  downgrading of Portugal's debt by Moody’s.

The Commissioner proposes banning  the agencies from assessing countries

New operating rules  will be proposed this fall.

Jubilation! South Sudan  celebrated its independence.

and urged North and South Sudan  to quickly demarcate their borders.

Silencing the guns  and building a democratic state